Long Beach Multi-service Center construction to begin in April, services to continue

LONG BEACH >> A nexus for social services in Long Beach will be closing in April for a major construction project that is expected to modernize the facility and improve accessibility.

The Long Beach Multi-Service Center, 1301 W. 12th St., serves the city’s homeless through outreach, intake assessments, case management, housing placement and a biennial homeless count, and works with a number of other social service agencies.

The project is expected to last four to six months. An exact start date was not provided.

The city’s Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Kelly Colopy, oversees the center.

“The way the current facility is set up wasn’t the best, so we’re knocking down the non-load-bearing walls inside to reconfigure,” Colopy said. “We’ll also be shifting the entrance.”

The $2-million project was funded by allocations from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, she said.

Some center operations will continue out of trailers and modular units set up near the construction site, but most services will be moved off-site, Colopy said.

Robert Cerince, Homeless Services Officer for the city, said he looks forward to the construction and to an improved building.

“We’re going to have a bigger lobby and more accessible, secure interview rooms,” Cerince said. “We’ll have an expanded community room for counseling and training, and our health clinic will have more space.”

The center is a “best services model” across the country, and the construction project will help boost efficiency and allow staff to serve more people in need, he said.